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An animated advertisement I created for my Etsy store, which will hopefully go on swap-bot via Project Wonderful:

Recent ATC's

My recently made and favorite ATC's, which are all sadly sent off to their new owners.

 This is probably my favorite. It's simple but the skull is hand drawn and pretty accurate. You can't tell, but I hand painted the skull metallic silver. Then that was glued onto Dutch ephemera and outlined in black. Much cooler is person. I did not want to give this away.

 This is the first in a series of 7 Deadly Sins. I hand drew the body and then painted it.

 This was for an ATC swap featuring our favorite lyric by our favorite band. My favorite band is the Weepies and my favorite lyric is from "The World Spins Madly On". It goes "I thought of you and where you'd gone and the world spins madly on".

 Cryptozoology ATC. I did my second favorite cryptid the Lusca, which is a mammoth man eating, ship destroying octopus.

I also really loved this one. It was for Little Red Riding Hood, obviously. I didn't want to give it up. My partner did not seem to like it much. I was disappointed because I hand made vines with clay, hand drew and painted Little Red, and put together her basket.

Voodoo Dolls and Magic Wands

I've joined some Pagan themed groups on Swap-bot. I'm not Pagan myself but I admire the religion for many reasons. It's got some great symbols, stories, and paranormal-esque (magic, spells, etc) beliefs. All of those things make for some neat swaps.

Last month I created an "authentic" magic wand. And tonight (or this morning really..it's 7 AM) I finished my voodoo doll. The wand is complete with a single terminated quartz Arkansas crystal, which all wands must have (apparently..I don't know much about wands). The voodoo doll was themed around "junk" or scraps of things we had. All parts of it had to be made from scraps, which was easy for me since I have a ton. It was themed "Banish the Junk Voodoo Doll". I almost want to keep it and Lily really wants it, but I've mad tons of voodoo dolls so I'll just make another.

I'm pretty proud of both. Here they are for your viewing pleasure:

 I actually went outside and found a nice stick. I sanded it, added shimmer pigment to purple paint, and let it dry.


I affixed the crystal to the end with super glue and wrapped wire around it. You can see but I braided this silver/pink Martha Stewart ribbon and wrapped it around the base of the wire wrapped crystal. Then I added a silver gemstone.

 The handle is made with this metallic silver Premo polymer clay. More braided ribbon and gemstones, plus a glass butterfly pendant.

My First Chunky Book Page

I just made my first ever chunky book page for a "dark" themed chunky book. Basically, we make one page a month. This first go around I participated in the "Nightmare Before Christmas" themed page. I drew Sally and colored her with colored pencils. The background is scrapbook paper. The quote from Sally's song was printed on a label maker. The buttons are...buttons :) Each page in this chunky book will be 6x6 inches. We bind the pages once we receive them, so my partner will bind this one (not me).

 

It says " I sense there's something in the wind..."

 "...that feels like tragedy's at hand."

"Sally"

Overall, I really like it. I think it's well-done for my first page.

15 Favorite Quotes Swap

I recently sent a 15 Favorite Quotes E-mail swap on swap-bot. I thought for sure I had 15 favorite quotes, but around quote 10 I had to start searching. I found some great ones.

Many of these are from the greatest book ever written (no, not the Bible silly) but Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. Others are from movies I've loved and some are from the greats! A lot of these quotes are bittersweet or a little sad, which I find oddly comforting; Like those words tell the truth whereas the sugary sweet ones ignore it. Here are my 15 favorite quotes:

1: "If you're looking for sympathy you'll find it between shit and syphilis in the dictionary."
- David Sedaris (Barrel Fever)

2: "When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion."
- Abraham Lincoln

3: "Succotash my cocker spaniel, you fudging crevasse hole dipshiitake!"
- "Oskar" from Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

4:"If you step on people in this life, you're going to come back as a cockroach."
-Willie Davis

5:"Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something and has lost something."
-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

6:“I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone.”
-Lance (Robin Williams), World's Greatest Dad

7:"Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy. "
-Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

8:"She wants to know if I love her, that's all anyone wants from anyone else, not love itself but the knowledge that love is there, like new batteries in the flashlight in the emergency kit in the hall closet."
-Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

9:"I hope that one day you will have the experience of doing something you do not understand for someone you love."
-Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

10:"Humans are the only animal that blushes, laughs, has religion, wages war, and kisses with lips. So in a way, the more you kiss with lips, the more human you are. And the more you wage war."
-"Oskar" Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

11: "Absence is to love as wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small and kindles the great."
-Roger de Bussy-Rabutin

12. "Do not follow where the path may lead... Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
-Robert Frost

13. "Life, at best, is bittersweet"
-Jack Kirby

14. "If you are going through hell, keep going."
-Winston Churchill

15. “In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on.”
-Robert Frost

Good Swapper.

Today I was perusing the swap-bot forums when I went into a section I'd never been before. It was a "Good Swappers" section. I figured it would be about the same 10 or so people that I usually see running around the Bot being "good swappers" but lo and behold there was my name!! I had my own thread! It was started by someone I angelled a swap for. She said:

"@Saristotle hosted a really cool swap and when I got flaked on by @kaywinnetlee she sent me one of the best ATCs I have ever received!! She is a fantastic swap host, proactive with the angelling and incredibly talented!
Yay @saristotle XD"

How thrilling!

Join swap-bot at www.swap-bot.com!

Sizzlin' Summer Swap

I joined a photography swap with the theme "Sizzlin' Summer". It was left up to the particpants interpretation of "Sizzlin' Summer" and my first thought was the phrase/saying "It's so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk". 

Lovely Jewelry Box Swap

I really enjoy decorating those little wooden boxes you can get at craft stores. I made a swap for the group I'm an officer for "Random Bits of Lovely" called the "Lovely Jewelry Box" swap.

I had a good time making this for my partner, Garrent.

I made a multicolored little kawaii candy and wrapped it in saran wrap to give it a wrapped hard candy look. I also painted it blue, and added red/blue bubble ribbon to the bottom. The pattern on the top is card stock. It's all sealed with DecoArt's triple thick glaze. I added a mirror, card stock pattern, and  bow to the inside.

Secret Trinket Box/Hollowed Out Book Swap

This post is for anyone in my "Secret Trinket Box/Hollowed Out Book" swap on swap-bot.

***This is a pretty simple way to hollow out a book. For anyone in the swap, you do not have to follow these instructions if you have a different way or more preferable way.***

Supplies:
Hardback book
mod podge (or glue/water mixture)
large paint brush
pencil
x-acto knife
something heavy (to place on top of book)
ruler/flat edge




1. Open the book about 3 pages in.

2. Mod Podge the outside pages (minus the first 3 pages set aside) with the paint brush.

 

3. Close the book and place a heavy object on top. Let dry for 15-30 minutes.
















4. With a ruler/flat edge trace a 1 inch or so perimeter around the first page (after the 3 or so pages you set aside).

5. Along the perimeter you penciled, use the x-acto knife and slice and slice and slice. As you're slice remove pages along the way. Do this until you've nearly reach the bottom. This took me about 30-45 minutes.













 

6. Mod Podge the inside of the hollowed book, but not the top page of the hollowed area (if you do, when you shut the book while it dries it will stick together. You then won't be able to open it without tearing).

7. Close the book and place a heavy object on top, like in step 2. This is so the book dries tightly and the cover will close properly without popping open. Let dry for 1-2 hours. This step takes longer because the mod podge on the inside is not as exposed to air as the mod podge used in step 1.

8. Once the inside has dried, mod podge the first page of the hollowed out section.

9. Modge podge the first 3 pages (that you set aside) together and then mod podge them to the front cover so the cover is neatly glued to the first three pages. Let dry 15-30 minutes.

10. You're finished! Place a profile surprise inside the hollowed space, package, and send to your partner!

~Join the INTERNATIONAL swap HERE.
~I've also set up a US Version by request. Join HERE.

Matchboxes!

I had a go at making matchboxes for a swap. Compared to what I've seen on flickr mine are mediocre at best. But I enjoyed making them!

Hey-oh!

I'm not sure if I'm in over my head but I'm hosting a lot of swaps at the moment, swaps YOU should sign up for. They are all fairly easy.

I'm hosting 7 swaps on the Seven Deadly Sins. I had an assignment in my photo class I really enjoyed and I think some neat ATC's would come out of this. Each swap is two weeks long, 1 ATC for 1 partner. Pretty easy and they are spaced out through the entire summer.
1. Pride atc swap (sign up deadline is May 26th!!!!!)
2. Envy atc swap
3. Gluttony atc swap
4. Lust atc swap
5. Anger atc swap
6. Greed atc swap
7. Sloth atc swap

I'm hosting a Cryptozoology ATC swap, which is going to be neat! 1 ATC for 1 partner. Basically, design an ATC based off of your favorite cryptid! Mine is the Mothman. I love him!

My last swap is not ATC related but very similar to the swap I blogged about here. I am using loreley's idea for the group I'm an officer in called Random Bits of Lovely. If anyone wants to join this swap you'll need to request to join the group. Anyway, the swap is called the Lovely Jewelry Box swap.

We'll be decorating one of those small wooden, unpainted craft jewelry boxes in a way that our partner would like. See the swap home-page for more details.


So, I'm hosting 9 pretty evenly spaced out swaps. That doesn't sound so bad...on top of the other 15 swaps I'm in. I should probably slow the swapping down a bit since I'm going to school full-time this summer and working on buying a house.

-Saristotle

Kawaii Fun!

I LOVE kawaii, but my favorite is kawaii foods (cupcakes!!). Don't ask me why..maybe because I love bright, happy, fun things and food. Probably. Because of this I've scouted out some cool kawaii swaps on swap-bot. The one I'm most excited for is "Kawaii Jewellery Box and A Handmade Jewel" hosted by loreley. As of now only 4 people are officially in the swap (22 watching) so if you're interested PLEASE sign up! The last day to sign up is April 30, so you have a few days.

Here is the jewelry box I made with a wooden 5'x5' box from Michael's:

The teal bubbles and Kawaii cupcake were made with Fimo, the red/white stripes are decoupaged tissue paper scraps, and the entire box was sealed with DecoArt's Triple Thick brilliant brush-on gloss glaze (which I love and practically cover everything in).

I want to keep this little box SO BADLY because it's got all my favorite colors and a cupcake on it but I won't :( I'll just make another one!

Thanks for reading!

PS. Join the swap I'm hosting: http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/60076